Something Like That
Part Sixteen
Kiss Her Already!
Where We Left Off Last Time . . .
Shikamaru's eye twitched, "How long have you guys been following us?"
"Since the start my dear friends, and the means are justified by the ends, we were spying on you for a good cause!" Lee said, then looked expectantly at Neji.
"I'm not going to rhyme with you, Lee." Neji said, folding his arms.
"You two should just kiss, and it'll end all of this, it's something we all just want to see!" Tenten said.
"Tenten!" Neji gasped, sounding annoyed and betrayed.
"Are you guys still rhyming?" Temari asked. "The play's over."
"And didn't you lechers see us kiss enough during it?" Shikamaru demanded.
"Well what the hey, yeah you kissed in the play, but we want to see some more." Kiba said.
"But no tongue understand? Or it'll be death by sand, dont think that our sister's a whore!" Kankuro said.
"You too?" Gaara sighed.
"What? It's catchy." Kankuro shrugged.
"We are not doing this for the rest of our lives." Gaara stated firmly.
"Ah what the hell, you think he can ring my bell, with all of you perverts staring?" Temari demanded.
"You too?" Shikamaru blinked.
"What?" Temari asked. "It's fun!"
Shikamaru sighed, smiled faintly and said, "Well fine if we must, though this date's a bust, seeing all of you has made me stop caring."
"What? No fair!" Temari protested.
"Well no need to fight, just give her a kiss goodnight, and we'll call this whole thing a success!" Sakura said.
"Kiss her? You're joking! What are you smoking? You're all making this a big mess." Shikamaru said.
"Are you children on drugs?" An old woman asked suddenly. "Why are you all rhyming? Why are you all out here at this hour, you look like ninja--" she gasped, "are you a gang?"
"They're not on drugs, they're just rhyming." Neji said. "Well . . . most of them arent on drugs." He added, looking at Lee.
"Look Mina, it's the Yamanaka Talent Troop, they must be rehersing for the next play, you kids were fantastic!" The old woman's husband said, leading his wife away.
She left mumbling about actors using too many drugs.
"When the heck did we become the Yamanaka Talent Troop?" Shikamaru demanded of Ino.
"Don't change the subject, kiss Temari!" Ino said, looking around shiftily.
"Well I just dont see, why can't you kiss me? I thought this date was going rather well!" Temari said.
"I cant do it with a crowd, and don't be so loud, I uh . . . oh hell!" Shikamaru said and he grabbed Temari.
Didn't kiss her though. Couldn't.
Temari waited, and waited. He just kind of looked at her, tried valiently to kiss her . . .
But he didnt.
Couldnt.
He knew they'd stop being friends if he did that.
At least they'd stop being regular friends, they'd become boyfriend and girlfriend, damn this whole dating thing was a bad idea!
She was looking at him expectantly, after a long time with no action there were some annoyed remarks and Temari looked a little pissed.
"For crying out loud--fine, I'll do it myself already!" Gaara said.
Shikamaru frowned, Gaara was going to do it? He was going to kiss his sister? Or was he going to kiss Shikamaru?
Shikamaru wasnt sure which idea he hated more, another guy kissing Temari-and he didn't know why that botherd him, they were just friends-or he himself getting kissed by a guy.
In the end he decided that both ideas were equally distubing. He would just kiss Temari himself . . . but he couldnt do it!
He had an excuse when they were doing the play, but now . . . if he kissed her . . .
He heard the sound of stirring sand and suddenly felt something pushing him forward.
He pressed against Temari and his head was forced towards hers, the kiss was poorly aimed and landed on her nose, but she moved her lips into line with his.
There were some cat calls from Kiba and Kankuro, but as Shikamaru glared at them they were shut up by Gaara and Ino.
So that's what Gaara meant by he'd do it himself.
Well . . . Shikamaru kind of hoped the youngest sand sibling helped him out again sometime . . . wait what the heck was he thinking? Temari was just a friend! Just a friend!
On The Other End . . .
Temari leaned into the kiss that Shikamaru was giving her, he wasn't very responsive at first but once the cat calls died off his arms held her tighter and he deepened their kiss.
Temari opened her mouth for him and he responded in just the way she'd hoped, they swapped tongues for a few moments as a girl-probably Ino, but Temari wasn't paying attention-said "H-hey, you guys can stop now, don't you need to breathe?"
Temari just closed her eyes tight and pretended no one else was there, that it was just the two of them.
She wanted more, she wanted him, she didn't care if he was younger, she knew she was wrong, she'd burn in hell for this, get him in trouble with his parents but none of that mattered, all that mattered was how she felt and . . .
And she found herself taking his hands . . . and then running.
"Where are we going?" Shikamaru asked.
"We're finishing this in private!" Temari said, looking back at him and winking.
"I hope you don't mean what I think you mean, because I'm fourteen and I don't really think I'm up to something like that!" Shikamaru said.
Temari slowed and stopped. "Jackass." She sighed. "Anyway I wasn't going to do that!" She lied, "I just meant the date."
"Oh . . ." Shikamaru said. "Well we've put some distance inbetween us and them. If you want I guess we could . . . but I dont know what else there is to do."
Temari sighed.
"But . . . tomorrow there should be clouds." Shikamaru said.
"So?" Temari asked.
"You could watch them with me if you wanted to." Shikamaru said. "And maybe we'd eat lunch together."
Temari smiled. "I'd like to, but we're leaving Konoha tomorrow, we were only here for the Chuunin exams . . . they're over now so . . ." She looked down, "I guess I won't have any reason to come back to Konoha at all unless I've failed the exam . . . or I'm sent on a mission."
Shikamaru frowned. "Yeah. I guess so."
Temari put her hands on her hips, "I guess this is good night then." She said, turning towards her brothers, who were clearly waiting.
"Yeah." Shikamaru said thoughtfully.
"Hope I wasn't too troublesome." Temari smirked.
Shikamaru grinned back at her, "You're always troublesome, woman."
They laughed, so . . . at least they were friends. Maybe they'd never get to be more than that. Maybe they shouldn't be.
He was probably thinking the same thing about her.
He'd be too lazy to visit her in Suna. If anything happened between them it'd have to happen in Konoha. She'd have trouble getting away once she became a Chuunin, ninja from different villages werent generally all that welcome in other villages without written permission anyway so really he'd have dificulty seeing her even if he wanted to come to Suna.
In another year she'd be eighteen and even dating him would be wrong, she needed to stop thinking about this and just get on with her life . . .
She could always just take lots of missions that'd bring her close enough to Konoha to justify sneaking in for a quick visit or something.
Who knew?
The Next Day . . .
Shikamaru sighed weakly as he watched Temari and her group getting ready to leave.
Ino jabbed him in the rib cage, "Aren't you going to kiss her goodbye?"
Shikamaru scoffed.
Everyone from the play was there to see the sand trio off, Asuma-sensei was there, talking to Temari's sensei Baki or Buki, or whatever his name was.
Shikamaru thought he saw their gaze fall on him as Asuma said something that made Baki grin, the two men nodded, shook hands, and parted ways.
Asuma slapped Shikamaru on the shoulder and said "Everyone else's said goodbye. Arent you going to?"
Shikamaru rubbed his shoulder and walked over to the sand siblings.
"Thanks for helping us out with the play." He mumbled.
Gaara nodded, Kankura grinned and said "Thanks for reminding our sister she's a girl."
"A girl who can kick your ass!" Temari snapped.
Kankuro snickered and backed off. Shikamaru looked at Temari . . . she really was beautiful.
"Kiss her you dumbass!" Hinata, of all people suddenly shouted.
Shikamaru just smiled at Temari, "Well I guess I'll see you around pineapple hair."
Her eyes flashed, but then she smiled and said "Yeah, later days crybaby." She said.
Their eyes met and both knew there were things to be said that couldnt be said, things to be done that couldnt be done.
But they were ninja, masters of deception. She smiled and he smiled, they parted ways and that was that. She looked over her shoulder once as they left.
But only once.
Shikamaru sighed when they were out of sight and turned back to the others.
Everyone was staring at him either directly or indirectly.
Ino gapped at him. "Th-that's it?"
"What?" Shikamaru asked.
"You're not going to kiss her, or ask her to marry you? You just call her a name and send her on her way? That's it? What the hell, man!" Ino demanded.
"Calm down Ino." Asuma-sensei said.
Shikamaru shrugged, "It's too troublesome. I'm only fourteen after all, why should I get married? Temari is just a friend."
"Really?" Chouji asked skeptically.
"Yeah." Shikamaru nodded. "I mean we just kissed because of the play."
"I still don't know how someone as lazy as you became a Chuunin!" Ino cried.
Asuma smirked, damn it why did so many people have to smirk? Shikamaru wanted to erase the word "smirked" from the dictionary.
His sensei said "Well while we're on that subject, Ino . . . you and Chouji passed your exams, you're Chuunin now."
"Finally!" Ino cried, "Hear that Sakura?"
"Sakura passed too." Asuma said.
"Oh . . ."
"Shikamaru, now that your teammates have passed . . . if you wanted to you could apply for a job as an examiner."
"Why would I want to do that?" Shikamaru asked. "It's such a drag."
"Well it's just something you might consider . . . if you wanted to see Temari-chan more often."
Shikamaru scoffed.
But inwardly began to consider it.
It'd be troublesome . . . but maybe he could do it.
"Yeah," He said at length, "Why not? It'd get me out of doing troublesome missions, wouldn't it?"
"Some, I suppose." Asuma said, and took a puff of his cigarette.
"Yeah. So I'll do it for that." Shikamaru said. Asuma smirked again.
Yeah . . . Shikamaru hated smirking. It made him think of Temari.
Outside Konoha . . .
"So . . . I thought you should know how you did on the Chuunin exams." Baki said.
And Temari found herself not caring. If she passed that was great, but if she failed she'd be able to come back to Konoha the next time the Chuunin exams were held there . . .
Either way she won.
"Passed." Baki said, "Every one of you. With flying colors no less, you'll be Jounin in no time, but then again you are the children of our late Kazekage."
Temari smiled weakly, well at least she'd passed.
She'd hardly ever see Konoha again . . . well it didn't matter, right? After all Suna was her home . . . she was a patriot, Konoha sucked because it wasn't Suna, that's right!
Aww damn.
She felt a little tear lining her eye, she rubbed it away furiously.
"You okay, sis?" Kankuro asked.
"Y-yeah! Just some sand in my eyes . . . keep your sand to yourself, Gaara!" Temari said.
Her younger brother glared at her lazily and without real malice, and nodded.
"Sorry." He grunted.
"Temari . . ." Baki said slowly, "You know . . . there's need for a go-between for Suna and Konoha. You'd travel in between villages to coordinate things like the Chuunin exams. In fact you'd have an opportunity to work closely with the Chuunin examiners in Konoha."
In Konoha? Well . . . maybe . . .
"Why are you offering Temari the job instead of Gaara or me? We're more talented . . . I'm not as hot tempered as they are." Kankuro said.
"I heard from the leaf village Jounins," Baki said, ignoring Kankuro and looking at Temari, "that their Hokage plans to offer a promotion to that young Chuunin . . . what was his name? Nara? He'll be an examiner. So at least there'll be a familiar face if you wanted the job."
Temari smiled. "Hm. I'll have to think about it." She said.
"Think about Nara's more like it." Kankuro scoffed.
"You want some of this?" Temari demanded, threateningly waving her fan at him.
"A job like that," Gaara said, "Would be really . . . troublesome."
"You too?" Temari scoffed. "Boys." She scoffed again.
Kankuro laughed, and both her brothers said together, "Troublesome woman!"
And Temari chased them. Even though Kankuro could probably match her, even though Gaara could utterly kill her they ran from her and her fan.
And they got back to Suna a whole day ahead of schedule.
Ze End!
but not really
1 More To Come!
Writer's Comment: I hope you've all enjoyed reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it, but it is finally at an end. I am not totally happy with this chapter as the ending feels kind of off, but maybe that is just because I secretly dont want to end it? I dunno, but I felt like I should post it. This may be the only chapter that I actually go back and change right before posting the final one.
The last chapter coming up is what I like to call an Aftershock chapter, it's not technically part of the story itself, it's just a little . . . well, aftershock.
Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed and showed that there were fans of the pairing, and fans of the story. I couldn't have asked for a better audience, I'm glad that through this story I've not only learned to rhyme, but encouraged others to do so as well, it's pretty neat.
So rhyme, all of you that rhyme, don't get turned into a mime, make sure you never lose that gift of rhyme, as days go by and passes the time, remember forever these words of mine, always rhyme for at lease one line.
I don't know if that makes any sense, but whatever. Thanks to those who eagerly reviewed every chapter, thanks to those who made suggestions to make it even better, thanks to you who made me wake up early in the morning and realize I needed to actually post the next chapter, and thanks to those who read even though they did not like the pairing, and left positive reviews anyway.
Everyone have fun, hope you will be back to read the Aftershock!